Monday, May 8, 2017

Supporting Service Dogs for Service Men & Women #k9sforwarriors

The month of May is National Military Appreciation Month, a time for all of us to remember the sacrifices made by our military and their families. No matter your political view, we all need to let our service men and women know that we appreciate their role in protecting and defending our freedoms every day. To our service men and women we say “thank you for your service”.

oz  military appreciation month

This month also happens to be National Pet Month. It is a month to promote responsible pet ownership, to promote the benefits of living with pets and to also raise awareness of the value of working and service animals. That makes May the perfect time to honor our service men and women and the service dogs that help them once they have returned home.

We have talked about K9s for Warriors before on the blog. It is an amazing nonprofit organization right here in Florida that rescues dogs from shelters, trains them as service dogs and provides them to veterans who have become disabled while serving our nation. K9s for Warriors has become the largest provider of service dogs for American veterans with Post-Traumatic Stress Disability (PTSD), traumatic brain injury (TBI) and/or military sexual trauma (MST).

support k9s for warriors nonprofit organization

Last month, K9s for Warriors graduated its 300th service dog team, six years after they served their very first veteran. They have provided assistance to veterans in 42 states and in more than 150 cities.

“In the beginning, I never imagined we would serve 300 veterans,” said Brett Simon, President of K9s for Warriors. “We have experienced incredible growth and success, graduating eight teams in our first year, and 73 teams last year. However, we’re not at a resting point. Our goal for 2017 is to serve 12 warriors per monthly class.”

In the past, we have supported K9s for Warriors through our blog, hosting a comment-a-thon for Oz’s birthday with each comment being worth $1. Thanks to all of you, we donated $50.

Now, we would like your help so we can make two special donations from the K9s for Warriors Wishlist. All you have to do is:
1) leave a comment on this post about why you feel it is important to support our military and veterans (only one comment per account) and
2) share this post with others and encourage them to leave a comment too.

Our donation will be $185 - that's a lot of comments for us to send these two special gifts to K9s for Warriors:

Welcome Box, which helps welcome a new warrior to Camp K9 with some of the comforts of home (like snacks, toiletries, etc.), and

Kuranda Dog Bed, just like the Kuranda bed Ma built for me, to provide a comfy snooze spot for a service dog in training.

Our Service Men, Women and Dogs Comment-a-thon will be open from now until May 29, 2017 11:59 PM EST. Please help us give a new leash on life to shelter dogs and our veterans.





21 comments:

  1. I love this organization and I'm so happy to read you will support them. It is a wonderful way to say thank you for all what service dogs & k9's do for us...

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  2. What a pawsome cause! Our military does a lot to keep us all safe - supporting them is important!

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  3. What a great cause to support!!!!
    loves and licky kisses
    Princess Leah xxx

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  4. What a fangtastic group! They save dogs lives by choosing shelter dogs to train instead of breeding puppies, and they help the warriors who've been keeping us all safe!

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  5. What a nice tribute to those special pups
    Lily & Edward

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  6. What an excellent charity. Thanks to all our allies who serve.

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  7. A fantastic cause to support...and people say 'we're just dogs' sheesh! Dogs do such important jobs supporting 'hurting' service people.

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  8. K9s for Warriors are so awesome! Thank you for sharing their incredible work. I love our military members especially my son-in-law ♥

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  9. A great cause OZ! We are so thankful for the sacrifices our military service people make to keep us safe and free. We have a granddaughter in the Air Force and a grandson in the Army
    hugs
    Mr Bailey, Hazel & Mabel

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  10. Our canine brothers and sisters have made wonderful contributions!

    Your Pals,

    Murphy & Stanley

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  11. We thinks it's important to support our veterans because so many come back from serving with serious mental health issues. Service dogs are just one way to help them cope in the civilian world. Way to go Oz for supporting this cause.

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  12. PAWsome OZ!!! Thank you to all the wonderful K9's helping and supporting the veterans. Golden Thanks for your family's continued support. Golden Woofs, Rosalyn (SUGAR's mom)

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  13. I love the idea of helping dogs and veterans at the same time. We owe so much to our veterans.

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  14. That's pawsome Oz! I'm sure they appreciate your efforts. These dogs are doing great things for veterans.

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  15. We love the amazing work K9s for Warriors does. The difference their program makes in the lives of veterans is really moving.

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  16. What a great cause. Animals are great for the military for their calming soothing effects.

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  17. That sounds like such a great organization!
    Cammie!

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  18. OMD, Oz that is a pawsome thingie you are doin' for our Vets and the doggies!!! I thinks it's impawtent to support our Military Vets because without them, we have no freedom! Thanks again for helping out!
    Kisses,
    Ruby ♥
    pees: I keep seein' you and your Moms in the Chewy commercial! it goes by WAY too fast thou! I barely gets to see you gives your Moms a high-paw! Still, you guys are just FABulous!

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  19. K9s for Warriors is such a great organization! Our Veteran's deserve our gratitude and our help for all the sacrifices they've made for us. I love that dogs can offer them some help as they transition from military to civilian life, which isn't easy for those who suffer from PTSD or many physical issues. Thanks for sharing this!

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  20. What an amazing organization! We feel it's important to support our Vets because they sacrifice so much for our freedoms and safety.

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  21. Ding-ding-dingeringeding Hello Oz I'm late but I gots to say this is a very important cause kudos to you Oz for supporting such a worthy cause.
    Thanks for being a friend
    Sweet William The Scot

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Thank you for stopping by and leaving a pawprint. I enjoy reading each and every one!
Cairn cuddles,
Oz the Terrier